Green vs Silver
by Kentethalion
Summary: Emerald is bored, and after one of Mercury's trademark comments, decides to alleviate that boredom by challenging her partner to a day-long, multipart contest. My submission for the RWBY subreddit's june competition!


Green vs. Silver

She pushed the stick to the left.

He moved to the left.

She pressed a button.

An enemy fell.

She tilted it back. He turned around.

Another slight movement of her thumb. Another kill.

God this was _so boring_.

Why did people rant and rave about this so much? She had grown up without the luxury of video games, and she could now clearly see she hadn't been missing much. It was eight parts bland, repetitive, "action" and two parts travesties of human emotion they tried to pass off as characters. And way too much blood. Seriously, human bodies didn't even _contain_ that much blood. She had seen enough corpses, _made_ enough of them too, to say that for sure.

As such, she was bored.

Emerald Sustrai was bored out of her mind. And there was _nothing_ she could do about it. Cinder was away, as she always was during the day. Off finishing the preparations for the next stage of their plan. Emerald would have loved to have helped her with whatever it was she was doing, but the fiery woman had denied her help, telling her that her part was done. There was nothing more for her to do before the tournament. She had wanted to protest, to beg Cinder to give her something, _anything_ to do, but she could never talk back against that silky, sultry voice. She was no match for Cinder.

Normally that wouldn't be a problem. Emerald had gotten fairly good at filling up her time here at Beacon. She had classes to attend, and as vehemently as she would deny it, she actually found herself enjoying them to a certain extent. The young woman had grown up without a real formal education. She had managed to "borrow" a few books from the library in her hometown, but for the most part she picked up almost everything she knew from the streets and the countless scuffles she got herself involved in. Unfortunately, classes were currently out of the question. They were always canceled the week before the Vytal Festival.

Emerald pressed the pause button and threw herself back up on her bed, glaring up at the ceiling as her hair fanned out behind her. For Dust's sake, she couldn't even train! One of the first years, that short red head with an un _godly_ amount of energy, had landed a blow on her ankle with that metal nightmare she called a warhammer. She snorted. _Warhammer my ass. It's more like a ballistic missile._ Nomenclature of the little pink girl's weapon aside, the attack had launched her across the room and sent pain like shattered glass stabbing up through her shin. A severe sprain, coupled with a horrible bruise. The nurse told her that she was lucky it wasn't broken. So much for that school-regulated restriction on power output during sparring matches.

She had gotten a brace and a stern warning to avoid any unnecessary strain for the next few days. When she had tried to protest, Cinder had made her swear to obey. She needed her at full-functionality come the tournament, and she wasn't taking any chances. Emerald wouldn't deny she had given serious thought to convincing Cinder to put the girl's name on the list, just to spite her. She wasn't _quite_ that petty though.

So here she was. Imprisoned to her room, with absolutely _nothing_ to do.

Just when she had given up all hope and was preparing herself to suffer through more of the _awful_ contraption still waiting on the menu screen, she heard the doorknob turn. Her heart soared. Human interaction! Maybe Cinder had come back early! Maybe she had come to see her favorite follower! Maybe-

Her joy immediately turned to incredible dismay as the door opened and in walked the bane of her existence, the King Douchebag himself, the one and only Mercury Black. It was bad enough that she had been forced to share a room with him (seriously, Cinder had gotten a single, why couldn't she have bunked with _her_ ) but she had been hoping to avoid contact with him, at least today of all days. Whatever passed for gods were surely laughing at her.

"Nice face you got there," he commented casually, slipping his boots off as he entered the room.

Emerald hadn't even realized that her expression had scrunched up into one of slight disgust and vast annoyance. She was glad to see her body and mind were so in sync when it came to him though. He strutted over to her and leaned lightly against the footboard. God, even the way he walked just _oozed_ arrogance.

"So, what's the cripple been up to today?" He easily blocked the fist aimed at his side.

"Not crippled."

Grey eyes rolled. "Oh, gee, thanks for the clarification. I was really worried there for a minute."

"God, your name is so _unbearably_ fitting." Mercury cocked a questioning eyebrow at that. "You're poisonous and drive people _insane._ "

"Somebody's grouchy today."

If looks were actions Mercury was pretty sure he'd have a broken neck right now. She was so much fun to mess with. "I will end you, Black."

He gave her a once over. "Did you even bother getting dressed today?"

"They're called comfy clothes. I'm not going anywhere, and they're comfortable." Comfy clothes, in this case, translated to a black tank under dark green off-the-shoulder top and black and green plaid pajama bottoms. "Besides," Emerald continued, "I don't want to hear any sort of fashion _anything_ from you, Mr. Hip Cape."

He glanced down at the length of grey cloth hanging off his right hip. "Oh please," he scoffed, "ladies dig it."

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." She swung her legs over the side of the bed. "To answer your earlier question, I've been playing your stupid video games."

Mercury gasped, placing a hand against his chest in mock outrage. "Stupid? Video games? No no no, dear Emerald. If you think they're stupid, you've clearly been playing them _wrong_."

"I was winning."

"That only means you were playing by the book."

"Are you not supposed to?"

He gave he an amused smirk before walking over the small bookshelf that housed his games. His ran a finger along the case spines until he found what he was looking for and pulled it from its place. Emerald snagged it out of air as he tossed it to her, before turning it over in her hands to inspect it.

"What-"

"It's a fighter. I'm going to go take a shower. Pop that in and get used to it. When I get back, prepare to see how you're _supposed_ to play video games." Before Emerald could say another world, Mercury had disappeared into the bathroom.

She stared after him for a minute before getting up and moving to the console. It couldn't hurt to humor him. It would be nice to shatter that ego of his, at any rate. She grinned as the title screen popped up on the TV. This was going to be a piece of cake.

* * *

Emerald stared slack-jawed at the screen. The controller lay in her lap , loosely grasped between her hands.

 _What just happened?_ The match had started, and Emerald had immediately pressed her attack. She had a fast character, so it made sense to get the advantage off the bat and not even give Mercury a chance to do anything. The next thing she knew, she was off the edge of the level and the round was over.

Crimson eyes turned to glare at the man lounging on the bed beside her. Mercury had his hands folded behind his head and the most shit-eating grin on his face Emerald had ever seen. It made her furious.

"You cheated!" she spat, lunging at him.

He caught her wrists just in time to keep her from clawing his stupid, grey eyes out, and laughed at her distress. She was going to _kill_ _him._

"I didn't cheat," he proclaimed confidently.

"Bullshit, then what was that?!"

"That was me. Winning." He swore the anger rolling off of her was _palpable_. _So much fun._

"You didn't even fight me!"

"Sure I did."

"You absolutely _did not_!"

"Just because it wasn't _your_ style of fighting or the one the game tries to force on you, doesn't mean it wasn't fighting." He pulled her wrists off to either side and looked directly into her eyes. "There's more than one way to win a game, Emerald." Mercury released her arms and she pulled them back to herself as she thought over what he had said. As much as she hated to admit it, he did have a bit of a point there. She supposed her view may have been a _tad_ narrow…

"Okay, so now that we've proven beyond any reasonable doubt how much better I am-"

Oh, _hell no._

"You beat me at a single game!" Emerald cut him off angrily. "That does _not_ make you king of the friggin' universe."

"You're absolutely right," he said with a shrug. She didn't even have time to reel back in shock because he admitted she was right before he continued. " _That_ isn't what makes me King of the Universe. It's pretty much everything else about my existence."

"Oh my god," the green-haired warrior groaned as she placed her face in her palm. "Does your ego even fit in this building?"

"Probably not, no." He shrugged and smirked at her. "But at least I have the skills to back it up."

"Oh, that's what you're going with?"

"There's nothing to 'go with.' This is true facts."

"Then I'm sure you wouldn't mind verifying those 'true facts.'" Grey orbs narrowed at her in suspicion. It was her turn to grin. "An all day competition. We take turns deciding the next game, and the person with the most wins at the end of the day is the winner."

Her partner sat up on the bed beside her. "Sustrai, are you _challenging_ me?"

"Yes, dickhole, I am."

"Are you sure about this? I think you're gonna regret it in the end. I mean, do you _really_ wanna spend the next week with a sprained ankle _and_ a shattered pride?"

Emerald crossed her arms as she glared at him. "Time to put your money where your ego is, Black."

He ran a hand across his chin in thought. "Aright. You're on." Mercury jumped to his feet and stretched. "But don't go crying to Cinder later when you haven't won a single round."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Mercury."

"So what were you thinking the first challenge is gonna be?"

"Hmm…" That was actually a really good question. Emerald hadn't honestly thought about it. Challenging him had been a spur of the moment decision. Something to take him down a peg. And alleviate her boredom.

 _What would be a good pick? He's already one up on me, so it's gotta be something that I know I'll beat him at._ She glanced at the console, toying with the idea of going for a rematch on a stage that didn't have open sides. She quickly dismissed the idea, though, as she didn't know if such a stage existed, and Mercury probably didn't require such a level to beat her. He had clearly devoted quite a bit of time to the game.

Nerd.

No, she needed something that played to her strengths, something she could do with her eyes closed…

Mercury did _not_ like that smile that stretched across her face.

"Okay, Mercury. You want to know what we're going to do first?"

"That would be why I asked, yes."

"Theft."

His brow scrunched in confusion. "Theft?"

"Yep, theft."

"I'm not following."

"It's one word. Pretty self-explanatory, too. Brain can't even handle that much, huh?"

"I know what stealing is, but how does that become a competition?"

"Simple, we get a half hour, and lift as many wallets, purses, and such as we can from people. The person who comes back with the most lien wins."

He rubbed his chin. "Okay, I guess that works. What happens if you get caught?"

"Automatic disqualification."

Mercury nodded. "Fine, then. Let's get started."

"See you back here in a half hour. Break a leg...or y'know, your neck," she added in low voice.

* * *

Emerald grinned. Things were going great for her in this little game. There was no way Mercury was taking home the victory on this one. She was only a few wallets in, but she was absolutely positive this was going to be hers. She wanted to grab one more trophy and then she'd be on her wa-

"Excuse me, Miss...Sustrai, isn't it?"

Her blood ran cold. She knew that voice. She had heard it many a time since coming Beacon. It had always been through a set of speakers though. Never directly in the flesh.

Emerald turned around slowly, hesitantly, terrified of what she would find. And she was right to be.

"P-Professor Ozpin!" she stammered as her heart thudded in her chest. _Shit! Shit shit shit!_

The white-haired man took a sip from his mug and began to walk toward her. _Oh fuck this is not good. If he catches me I'll lose!_ That thought was quickly replaced with one with far more urgency. _If he thinks I'm up to something and starts digging around it could ruin everything. Oh god, Cinder's going to_ kill _me!_ Of all the people in this rotten school, she just had to run into him.

He stopped in front of her and stared down at her over the rims of his glasses. Emerald did her utmost to keep her face straight and her voice level as she asked, "Is something the matter, Professor?"

"Well that certainly is the question, Miss Sustrai, though I was hoping you could tell me."

"Sir?" _How the hell does he know my name?_

"I make it a point to know everyone's name in my school, Emerald. Whether they're students of Beacon or not."

She visibly started at that. _Can he read minds?! I'm so fucked._

A wry grin pulled at the corners of his mouth. "I can't read minds either. I've just done this enough times to know how everyone reacts." Emerald relaxed slightly. Maybe she wasn't _totally_ fucked. "Back to my original question though, is something the matter, Miss Sustrai?"

She shook her head and blurted, "No, sir."

He raised an eyebrow, but thankfully made no comment on the speed of her response. "I only ask because you're currently standing in the section of the academy reserved for Beacon only classes." Emerald glanced around, only now realizing she had no idea where she was. She had never been in this section of the school before. She had gotten too caught up in pickpocketing competition and had promptly forgotten one of the cardinal rules of theft: always be aware of your surroundings. Ozpin leaned forward slightly. "Given that that there are no classes this week, and that you are a student of Haven, I was wondering what circumstances could have led you here. Especially in such a state of dress," he added in an amused tone.

Emerald glanced done at herself, realizing she still had on her comfy clothes and blushing slightly.

"Don't misunderstand. This area is not off limits nor out of bounds. I'm just a curious man."

"N-Nothing's the matter, sir." She shifted her weight to her good foot, and a lie came to her. She might survive this yet. "I knew that since classes were canceled some parts of the school would probably be more empty than usual, and I figured it would be a good opportunity to explore Beacon a bit more. Normally I'd be training for the tournament, but unfortunately I've been told I'm not allowed," she explained grumpily, holding out her foot and showing Ozpin the brace.

He inspected it for moment before saying, "That looks like Miss Valkyrie's handiwork." When she nodded, he let out a sigh. "I'm might have to send a letter home for her. I've gotten reports that quite a few first years have ended up in the infirmary after sparring against her." He straightened up. "Well, Miss Sustrai, if nothing's amiss, then I really must be on my way. I apologize for interrupting you."

"Oh, it was no trouble, sir. I was just about to head back for lunch anyway." She brushed past him, going back the way she had come. "Have a good day, professor!" she called back over her shoulder.

"You as well, Miss Sustrai."

She waited until she turned the corner before she broke into a sprint, ignoring the twinge of pain in her ankle with every step. Her heart pounded in her ears and her breathing came hard and heavy. As she ran a giddiness festered in her stomach and surged through her system. That couldn't have been real. Did that really just happen? Had she really just gotten away with that?

 _Holy shit._

Mercury wasn't going to believe this.

* * *

"I don't believe you." He shook his head. They were back in their room, and Emerald had just finished recounting her encounter. "You're telling me you ran into Professor Ozpin and managed to not only not give away our entire operation, but also avoid getting caught for having stolen wallets in your bag?"

Emerald grinned at him. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

"You know if you didn't want to admit that you couldn't get enough lien, you should have come up with something a tad more convincing than that."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Alright then, Mercury, lay it out. How much did you get?"

He smiled smugly and reached into the grey bag at his side, extracting ten wallets from within. "363 Lien in all," he said proudly, crossing his arms and leaning back. "I know exactly where the first years like to mill around during free time. Like lambs to the slaughter."

"363?"

"Yep, try that on for-h-hey! Why are you laughing?"

Emerald had a hard time replying she was losing it so hard. "Thre...three hundred and sixty-" she took a deep breath, "three? Oh my god," she almost fell of the bed as she continued cackling.

For his part, Mercury was getting very quickly annoyed. "And what's so funny, huh?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Emerald waved her hands in front of her face. She seemed anything _but._ "It's just...363, that's so _adorable!_ "

Mercury looked like he'd just been slapped by a fish. "Adora-well then how much did you manage to pull in Miss Master Thief?" he asked angrily.

She pulled only five wallets from her pouch and laid them on the table. Mercury could see right off that they were all of a much higher quality than the ones he had gathered, but that didn't necessarily mean-

"2166," Emerald stated matter-of-factly.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me."

"How the _hell_ did you get that money from only _five_ wallets."

"Because, my dear Mercury, pickpocketing is not about quantity, it is about quality. One large whale is worth a hundred small fish." She held up each of the leather items in turn. "Professor Port. Weiss Schnee. Cardin Winchester. Coco Adel. And my personal favorite," she lifted up the last one, dark green with a very familiar symbol embossed across its surface. "Professor Ozpin."

He just stared in shock, waiting for her to say she was just kidding and tell him whose it actually was. But she wasn't doing that, which meant…

"Holy fuck...you pickpocketed _Ozpin?_ "

She spun the wallet in her fingers. "Believe me now?"

"I don't...I mean, like, shit, Emerald."

"So, that's one win for me." She imitated his move from earlier, placing her hands behind her head and leaning back. "So now it's one to one. What else you got, Mercury?"

"Oh someone's getting rather cocky. I think it's about time we reeled that in. Let's play some poker."

Emerald almost didn't manage to keep a straight face. He wanted to play poker? Did he not know just how good she was at that? Not even _Roman_ stood a chance against her. It wasn't that she was especially great at the game or anything, she was just a brilliant cheater. Her deftness and dexterity learned from years of thieving had honed her ability to manipulate the cards in plain sight without anybody being any the wiser.

Mercury was _dead_.

"Yeah, poker sounds great. Want me to deal?"

He shrugged. "Sure, whatever."

There was a fresh, unopened pack of cards in her one of her drawers across the room. That would help enforce the illusion that no trickery was happening. Sleight of hand was all about misdirection and deception. He wasn't going to have any idea what hit him. Emerald cracked the seal on the deck and began shuffling. She glanced up at Mercury, whose gaze was currently focused across the room. This was the perfect moment.

As she was shuffling she slid a card up her sleeve with the barest movement. She stole a look at her grey-haired partner, but he hadn't noticed a thing. _Perfect._ She dealt out five cards in front of both of them.

"How many you want?" she asked when he had a chance to look at his cards.

"Hmm...you know, I actually think I'm gonna sit on this hand."

Okay, well that was surprising. He must have gotten a really good hand if he was choosing not to switch out any cards. "You sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Alright, well, suit yourself." She glanced at her hand again. With the card hidden in her sleeve, she had a three of a kind. A decently strong hand. Might as well aim for a better one though, just in case. "I'll be taking two." She tossed aside two cards and reached forward. As her fingers brushed the card pile, the one hidden up her sleeve came out and fell snugly on the top. It was a perfect execution, so flawless no one could have realized the card hadn't come from the pile at all.

So why were there two outstretched fingers holding her card between them? And why were they attached to Mercury's arm? And why was he grinning like that?

 _Oh shit._

"You really though you were gonna get away with that, didn't you?"

"I-you-wha-" Emerald couldn't believe this. That had been perfect. She had made no mistakes. Wasted no time. "How did you…"

"It was really simple, actually." He turned the thin cardboard rectangle over. "I knew you were going to cheat."

"How could you possibly have known that?"

"Because I know _you._ You'll never leave your victory up to chance if you have the opportunity to guarantee it."

"Even assuming that's true, how did you _catch_ me?"

"Oh, please, Emerald, you think I've spent this past year as your partner simply twiddling my thumbs?" He held up a hand as she opened her mouth. "Don't answer that. The point is, I've watched how you work. A year ago, you would definitely have gotten away with that, but now that I've gotten used to you, I doubt you could even snag my wallet from me." He flicked the card at her, and it struck her in the forehead. "So now the lead falls back to where it belongs, with me. What else have you got for me, Emmy?"

She glared and huffed. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

Mercury placed slid his Queen across the tiles, halting on a black square. "Checkmate."

Crimson eyes scanned the board, quickly realizing he was right. "Shit," she cursed quietly as she hung her head. That, unfortunatel,y brought them back to a tie. It was getting late, and there was only enough time for one more game. If she had managed to come out victorious here it would have been her overall victory regardless of the outcome in the last match.

Four to four.

After the poker game had ended, Emerald had decided to try her luck. She challenged him to another game of poker, this time Hold 'Em style, believing that Mercury thwarting her had been a mere fluke. He had quickly proven otherwise, and secured himself another quick and easy victory.

He had then challenged her to a round of beer pong, sans the beer. 'The closest thing they could get to real sports, with her ankle as it was' he had said. She had rolled her eyes. This was nowhere near a sport. He had probably thought that it would be a simple win, but Emerald absolutely obliterated him. Next had been her turn, and she chose World of Remnant. Mercury was awful at the surprisingly complex game, and Emerald easily walked away with another point under her belt.

When he questioned her on to how she got so good at the game she had revealed she'd been playing with Ruby and Yang sometimes in the library. Those girls had absolutely no mercy, and she had quickly learned to do likewise.

"Fraternizing with the enemy, Emerald?" Mercury had shaken his head. "For shame. What would Cinder say?"

"Shut up, you ass," she said as she threw a pillow at his face, "I wasn't 'fraternizing.' I was learning how they strategize."

"Right, sure, whatever you want to call it, I'm telling Cinder."

"You are a such a sore loser. Just pick another game."

He chose another video game, this time a racing one. Unfortunately for him, it seemed that whenever he couldn't just toss her out of the level, Emerald was a pretty fair match for him, and managed to beat him by less than a second.

She was unstoppable. This day was hers.

But now they were all caught up. Dammit, why had she picked chess? It wasn't that she thought Mercury was stupid, she had just kinda figured he wasn't that great with strategy and planning ahead, given how he had done at World of Remnant. But he met each of her tactics head on and managed to maneuver around all of them.

"Ugh," she groaned in frustration, throwing herself back on her bed. She was regretting ever suggesting this competition. She honestly thought she'd be able to clean sweep him without any issues.

"Oh hey, look, we're all tied up."

"Shut up," she growled and covered her eyes with an arm. "Can we just get this over with? I'm tired."

"Touchy touchy. Alright, little thief, for the final challenge, I choose this." She heard the thud of heavy glass hitting the table, and she peeked out from under her arm.

"Is that...vodka?"

"Yep!"

"You want to drink for our final contest?"

"Bingo!"

"You realize if we get caught we'll be in a stupid amount of trouble. Alcohol isn't allowed on Beacon campus, you know that."

Storm grey eyes rolled. "Oh, yeah, because we've _never_ broken the rules before."

Emerald sighed. "Alright," she consented, sitting up, "how are we doing this?"

He explained as he laid out two shot glasses, "Shot for shot. First one to give up or pass out loses the game, and in turn the entire competition." He uncapped the bottle on the clear liquid and poured some into the first glass. "I figure I'll go first since I suggested it and al-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Emerald had already swiped the glass from the table and downed it in one smooth movement. "...or you could just go first. That works too." He filled the second shot glass for himself. "In a bit of rush there, Emmy?"

"To kick your ass, Mercy."

He glared and knocked back his own shot. He was already pouring the next round as the alcohol burned its way down his throat and created a toasty pit in his stomach.

They were down four drinks in twice as many minutes when he started to feel it. Given the way the green-haired girl across from him was drifted lightly from side to side, he guessed she was too. This may not have been the best idea he had ever had. Neither of them had had much in the way of a significant meal all day, as caught up as they were in their feud. Still, he refused to be the first to give in. This day would be his.

He poured another round.

On the seventh shot, when he had to physically fight the desire to wretch, is when he _knew_ he was sloshed. The room wouldn't stop spinning, and he felt giddy as hell. He blinked and tried to focus as he tipped the vodka once more. But the glasses weren't filling up.

Why weren't they filling up? He glared at the bottle of vodka.

"Fuck is your problem?" he whispered at it.

"Heeeeey, are you talking to yourself over there?" Emerald slurred from the floor.

"The bottle...it won't…it won't...alcohol anymore." His partner pulled herself into a sitting position with what looked like no small amount of effort and looked at him blearily. "I mean, how stupid is that? Alcohol that can't alcohol! Whoever invented this is 'n idiot."

Emerald crawled around the table and collapsed beside him before reaching over and taking the bottle from his hands. After a moment's inspection she started giggling. "That's because it's empty," she laughed.

"Empty?"

"Like your head." She poked his forehead.

And suddenly, despite the cloud of alcohol disrupting his senses, Mercury become painfully aware of just how close to him Emerald was. Of the heat that pulsed off her body as she pressed into his side. Of the fact that the strap of her tank top had fallen off her right shoulder, leaving it completely exposed. Her dark skin looked so smooth…

"Emerald," he breathed. Crimson orbs locked on to grey ones, and he could feel himself being pulled downward toward her.

 _Alcohol is like magnets for faces,_ he thought drunkenly.

When their lips were no more than a hairsbreadth apart and he could have gotten intoxicated all over again from just the alcohol on her breath, she pulled away.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled. "I really have to go to the bathroom." His brain struggled to catch up as his heart pounded through his ears. He felt like he was experiencing whiplash. "Just...just wait right there, okay? I'll be back as quick as I can. Just...wait there. Just wait."

He nodded mutely, not trusting his words at the moment. Emerald stood, and stumbled slightly as she headed for the door.

When she heard the latch click shut behind her, the young woman breathed a sigh of relief and straightened her posture. She turned and made off down the hallway, steps sure and steady.

As she exited the dorms and felt the fresh evening air hit her face, she wondered exactly how long it would take Mercury to realize that they had a bathroom attached to their room. That poor, poor boy. He was even more gullible when he was drunk. A little bit of acting and a bare shoulder and any sort of defenses he had was gone. He clearly didn't remember the last time they had had a drinking competition. Otherwise he never would have challenged her.

She had drank him so far under the table he had blacked out. She had never been sure how much of that night, if any, remained with him. Obviously not a lot.

Emerald whistled a little tune as she walked, deciding to take care of the gurgling of her stomach. It was late, but thankfully there was a great burger joint right on the edge of campus that was open twenty-four hours. She was hungry, and while she wanted to hate everything about Beacon, that diner was a gift from fast food jesus himself. And besides, it's not like she'd be spending her own money.

The new weight in her pocket felt oh so satisfying.

" _I'll doubt you could even snag my wallet from me."_

She snorted. All that talk and it had still be such an easy steal. If he remembered any of this, he was probably going to claim himself the victor tomorrow, but honestly, she didn't care. Let Mercury have his little victory.

Emerald smiled as she thumbed through the fresh lien that lined his wallet. After all, as he had told her, there was more than one way to win a game.

* * *

 **A/N:** So this is my submission for the RWBY subreddit's june competition. Just a nice little oneshot, and a fun break from my usual darker style. These aren't characters I've yet had the pleasure of writing, and I must say I quite enjoyed it. They have a very fun dynamic. I hope you all enjoyed it as well.

Anyway, please, read and review! Tell me what you thought! And if you liked it and you're on the subreddit, maybe toss a vote my way when voting time rolls around ;)

Until next time, my friends!


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